Today at 14:00, a Tulip Tree was planted at the Texel Town Hall, entirely in honour of writer Jan Wolkers (81), who died in 2007. He was very famous for his paintings, but he did not only write beautiful books and poems. He painted and made sculptures. His painting 'The big yellow canvas' was inspired by the autumn leaves of the Tulip tree. He also described it as a "sparkling surf of a delicate cadmium yellow".

Tulip Tree

The tree is a descendant of Herman Boerhave's Tulip Tree. Among others, Wolkers' wife Karina, the mayor of Oegstgeest, experts from the Hortus Botanicus in Leiden, Dorpsmarketing Oegstgeest and Texel alderman Remko van de Belt were present to attend the planting of the scion.

The graft is still small, but this is what a fully grown Tulip tree looks like.

Jan Wolkers was not a native of Texel, but he spent a good part of his life on the island. He moved to the island in 1980 and lived in the hamlet of Westermient, where not long after the move Wolkers and his wife's twins were born. Many Texelaars cherish memories of the creative jack-of-all-trades: even if it was just a simple 'hello' at the bakery. He did book-signing sessions in bookstores and later gave drawing lessons. In 2006, he was made an honorary citizen of Texel.

Wolkers' Month

October is officially Wolkers' Month: it is the month in which he was born, but also in which he died. In recent years, several grafts have been planted in his memory. These include one at Wolker's garden house on allotment park Amstelglorie and at Kasteel Oud Poelgeest in Oegstgeest, Wolkers' birthplace. So from today, also on 'his' island: Texel.

The graft of the Tulip Tree on display at the town hall of Texel, at Emmalaan 15 in Den Burg.

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